I agree, this soup is fantastic and so quick and easy. I prefer not to use pre-packaged spice mixes. The ingredients include "ethoxyquin" and other scary sounding things. I make my own seasoning mix inspired by a low carb cookbook and it is super yummy (and not processed!) 2 T chili powder, 1 1/2 T cumin, 1 1/2 T paprika, 1 t onion powder, 1 t garlic powder, 1/4 t cayenne (or more if you like it hot). Use it as you would taco seasoning mix from the store, two or three tablespoons of the mixture will flavor a pound of meat.

I have made this soup several times. This is a great recipe, but I had to have a more hearty and nutritionally balanced meal in a soup. I added black, pinto and kidney beans (I use dry beans, soaked overnight, and simmer them with the chicken, tomatoes, spices and water for an hour, but canned will work fine, too -- just be sure to drain and rinse well, then put them in the soup last ten minutes) and frozen corn in the last 15 minutes of simmering. I also boil a whole chicken with onion, salt and celery the night before, strain out the chunks, refrigerate broth, skim off fat next day, and use instead of canned broth (but breasts and canned broth works okay, too, just not as flavorful – I cut cooking time by microwaving the breasts in the canned broth instead of baking in oven, then strain broth before adding to pot). I use a large can of diced tomatoes in tomato juice, the homemade taco seasoning that was given in another review, and a cup of mild picante sauce. I crush Multi-Grain Toastitos and add with a dollop of fat-free sour cream and the avocado when serving. Fruit salad on lettuce leaves rounds it all out. Simply divine. My changes make a lot more soup for larger families or gatherings, since you will have more broth if made with a whole chicken and/or add more water with the beans and corn. Add more spices proportionally, too. Keeps well for a week in frig. Hubby then takes it to work every day and begs for more!

Wonderful soup. Instead of baking the chicken I boiled 3 large breasts and chopped them up and threw everything into the pot at the same time. I added 1 can of corn, 1 can of diced tomatoes (undrained) and a can of chopped green chilies. I omitted the water since I left the liquid in the tomatoes. The avacado really made this delicious. Thankx Rillene.

Excellent Flavor! I did make a few cooking changes, not to change flavor though. I poached the seasoned chicken and then used that broth in place of the 1 cup of water. I also used a can of diced tomatoes w/ chiles in place of 1 cup tomatoes. I also added a handful of frozen corn at the very end of cooking. For a bit of a smokey bite, I sprinkled some "Penzey's" Chipotle spice on top of soup, when ready to serve. I used alot of suggestions from other reviews on this recipe..very helpful! Thank you very much Rillene for a fabulous soup. Oh, by the way, this is even better the following day!.

OH YA - this was the best dam soup i ever ate and i am a soup fan , never thought of cooking it from scratch but glad i did as you cant get this in a resturant - my girlfriend was amazed and i am a hero - follow directions to the letter and use mission style chips - everything blended together perfectly and as previous reviewer said i used corn bread from the local bakery awesome - will try another soup soon but this one is a keeper and will make for friends in a few days

I had some left over Mexican chicken, so I decided to make this soup. At first I wasn't going to put avocado in at the end like the recipe calls for, but decided to after all, boy was I glad I did, it was really good! I even added a little red cabbage to my soup. I also added my own Mexican seasoning instead of the pre-made kind. This soup is delicious. I ate 4 bowls, couldn't stop eating it! lol I love soup and I love this recipe, I will definitely make this again. :)

This is so yummy! I added a lot more cilantro, because I love the flavor. I also used monterey jack cheese instead of cheddar. I used Lawrey's HOT taco seasoning. Next time I will make a double recipe becase it was even better the next day.

This was EXCELLENT, my parents and 3 y.o. daughter loved it. Leftovers lasted only through the next day at lunchtime. Unfortuately, I wasn't able to get a decent avacado this time of year, so instead, I mounded some cooked white rice in the bottoms of the bowls and served the soup overtop of it. The only change I made to the recipe was to add a little cayenne pepper for some heat, also I used some pre-cooked chicken meat that I needed to use up so I just whisked the taco seasoning into the broth. Next time I make it, I am planning to sautee some garlic in with the onions and celery, and perhaps add a can of corn. Thanks for the awesome recipe Rilene!

Instead of using the tomatoes, I add a jar of white corn and black bean salsa. I also add extra corn to the soup to give it more substance. With the addition of the salsa, I passed on adding the fresh cilanto. Great recipe, I just tweaked it to meet our tastes.

I used gound pork sausage and it was AWESOME!